Friday, August 17, 2007

Big trouble in China.



What is up with the Chinese lately? They have been sending us fucked up toys, tires, toothpaste, and even pet food for crying out loud. It used to be that the Chinese would send us fairly dependable shit. And I, for one, would have no problem buying those $7 T-shirts that were made in China. Now, I don't know. I bet not even their T-shirts are safe anymore.


But we have no one to blame but ourselves for this shit. If we weren't so cheap, we could probably get all of our shit made right here in the good ole U.S.A.. But no, we would rather run down to Wal-Mart and save $2 on that blender. Forget the fact that the people making them are making $2 a day. And don't even get me started on all the customer service out sourcing. "Yes, this is field Negro. I would like to pay my Visa bill. No, not flee Nero, field Negro. Yes, I want to pay. No, not pray, pay. I am calling from Philadelphia. Oh, you did? Did you have a nice time? Oh, you liked the liberty bell. Hey, I just want to pay my bill, can I do that please. So what's the weather like over there in New Delhi?" Hey, you get what you pay for I guess.



So now we depend on China and their lack of standards to send us shit we actually put in our mouths and around our children. Oh, by the way, if you have stock in Mattel you might want to consider selling now. Because in about five years, when the first child that had one of those toys covered in lead paint gets cancer, it's on. I mean fake Gucci and Mont Blancs is one thing, but shit Americans give their pets to eat, and their children to play with, is quite another.


Everyone knows that China's best export is their little girls. (Have you ever been to a yuppie gathering, it's like being at a day care center in the middle Beijing for crying out loud. But I digress) So unless you have one of them, (the little girls, not the nursing home) I wouldn't trust anything else from China. The best shit they have they keep to themselves. Did you know that the great wall of China is visible from space? And did you see all the stadiums they are building for the Olympic games? Oh, and I do love me some General Tso Chicken. So I guess some things are cool about China. Some things.




But some things are very uncool too. Like their support of that fucked up and corrupt government in the Sudan, and their criminal leader, Omar al-Bashir. A government that is committing genocide and all forms of atrocities against their own people. Yep, this is the gods way of punishing the Chinese. Until they get that shit right in the Sudan, we should punish them too, and threaten to boycott their damn Olympics.



I just hope they don't take it out on us by sending us some more tainted shit.



22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just commenting on something you have on the side:

If Stephon's the Field Negro, then LeBron's the House Negro. For more information on that:

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/03/29/lebron-james-vs-stephon-marbury-the-150-shoe-vs-the-15-shoe/

Then again, the story's a good 6 months old or so, but it's still important to recognize this contrast. In the article, they mention how Steph and LeBrown are cool, but at the end of the day, one's in the house, one's in the field, and both are in the same plantation. At least that's if I was continuing that mentality.

Peace.

wst... said...

off topic FN but we hope that everything goes well for your family and everyone in jamaica with this hurricane dean.

Caged Lion said...

Funny post,

The yuppie thing with the kids, I call reverse missionary. It used to be that they would go to the countries to brainwast the people. Now they import the people to be brainwashed. Insidious.

I don't know whether the goods were fucked up from the beginning, or the quality has recently gotten worse. For any company to import goods and not do reqular inspections, is beyond stupid; I don't care if it's from Wujiang or Washington.

-Caged Lion

ps-the great wall is actually not seen from space. even the chinese astronauts disproved this one.

Anonymous said...

Those Chinese manufacturers aren't sending us tainted shit. They are making tainted shit for the U.S. based multinationals they are contracted with. The U.S. corporations are sending us the tainted shit. We're also forgetting that these contract maunfacturers very often make these products according to the specifications of the U.S. companies.

Caged Lion said...

I'll come back on and agree with anonymous. You have to specify what you want, and you have to regularly inspect the factory and the goods. AND you have to penalize the contract manufacturer if they mess up. Otherwise, who can blame them for cutting corners?

I find it interesting that the white media is blaming all of this recent crap on the Chinese and not on the good white people who are slapping their brands on these goods and actually selling them in a store.

And also they blamed the recent mine disaster on God of all people, and not the good white people whose shoddy practices precipitated the collapse.

field negro said...

Jose, you are right, I remember that story, and thanks for the link.

Thanks for the kind words wesawthat, and yes, we are all on pins and needles right about now.

Jamaica has been lucky with hurricanes in the past, I am just hoping our luck doesn't run out this time.

Jolli said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jolli said...

under your field negro of the day, you misspelled field as feld.

hey Mr. Negro :)

i been gave Wally World the finger.

and to-days China is not like China of yesteryear. the young have taken over and brought their new American way of thinking with them. expect more tom foolery to come.

Anonymous said...

RE:
"But we have no one to blame but ourselves for this shit. If we weren't so cheap, we could probably get all of our shit made right here in the good ole U.S.A.. But no, we would rather run down to Wal-Mart and save $2 on that blender. Forget the fact that the people making them are making $2 a day."

You hit the nail on the head there man. We've been cutting our own throats for years. It's just a symptom of our short-sided and selfish consumer mentality. We want it all now and we want it cheap, never thinking of the real consequences of our actions.

Woozie said...

Boycotting the Olympics worked real well against the Soviet Union. It's be a lot better if we refused to buy crap from them, considering the U.S. is the #1 recipient of Made in China goods. Also that would help break our addiction to cheap crap made with borderline slave labor.

Did you know they're shooting fireworks in the air and "making it rain" to get rid of all the smog in Beijing?

Francis Holland said...

What's wrong with China is also wrong with Russia: the fairly recent institution of rampant and unbridled capitalism. The same capitalist greed that is sending dangerous products to the US is also destroying the environment in China.

As "Beijing Olympics begin, air pollution in China is causing a lot of concern. This September, the Women's World Cup of Soccer will take place in China. Recently, the Canadian team traveled to Beijing to train, and found breathing was not easy." NPR Story

"The effect of the Beijing air on newcomers is a vivid reminder of just how awful China's pollution problem is — and the grim toll it is taking on millions and millions of ordinary Chinese. Recent estimates by the state's Environmental Protection Administration put the annual number of premature deaths in China caused by air pollution at a massive 358,000.

Even though on Beijing's worst days you can actually taste the poison in the air — an eye stinging, throat rasping experience similar to breathing in anti-mosquito fogger — the capital is theoretically one of China's better cities when it comes to air pollution. Some days it doesn't even make the list of China's top 10 most polluted cities. Still, competition is fierce: China boasts 15 out of the world's top 20 most polluted metropolises. TIME"

"An outspoken vice minister at the State Environmental Protection Agency said this week the pollution problem was magnifying as China's primary focus continued to be on economic growth. Boycott 2008 Games Blog"

But boycotting the games alone won't solve the fundamental problem of rampant capitalism endangering the worlds population.

Capitalism: Restrict it to Fix It

field negro said...

Wow, thanks for the info on China Francis. Are you sure you didn't work for Nixon? And jolie, thanks for looking out. That error has been corrected. But I can't spell anyway (just ask woozie) chalk it up to my dyslexia; or is it dislexya? :)

Peace.

Christopher Chambers said...

Another example of Mr. Charlie's greed gone awry. Their strategy is to get rich and hopefully have enough socked away that when the chinese do implode and fur flies, they will retreat to gated communities and hide.

Speaking of gated communities, Jamaica is about to get flattened and per usual, the government is run by idiots, the people are busy wanting folks to do stuff for them (typical) rather than make preparations themselves, and the gangs (whom the tourists do not see) were even on the news pledging to "control" the looting to "acceptable" levels. All proving yet again that (1) whites have been snowed about this "paradise" (2) sometimes having the Brits in charge ain't so bad, (3) reggae and dancehall aren' fit to be actually exports aiding an economy, (4) the "talent drain" of Jamaicans to Canada, the US and Britain has crippled the place, leaving only miscreants and fools in charge, and (5) West Indians do not have more on the ball/aren't more ambitious, blah blah than black Americans when you factor in the mass of folk still living on the islands. These folk I see milling around on the streets in DC on a given summer night seem downright Jewish merchant-like when compared to the people milling around drinking white rum and proclaiming how Hurricane Dean "soon pass," if it it doesn't, they are going to raid a hotel for a new satellite capable HDTV...yet they have one electrical outlet in the house and no dish. No matter.

Can you tell I'm bitter? ;-) Maybe the Chinese will bail them out. They've already boought off most of the African dictators (and profiting off murder in Darfur); why not start fresh in the Caribbean? The US doesn't care...

rikyrah said...

Good post, FN.

China owns us.

And, we sold ourselves for the cheap. Destroyed our manufacturing base for pennies on the dollar.

And, you forgot the BABY BIBS DRIPPING WITH LEAD.

Now, when lead paint was just in poor neighborhoods, there was excuse upon excuse as to why they never had enough money to clean up the lead.

But, putting lead near little White babies?

RECALL.


I'm just sayin'.......

DJ said...

Every conservative I've talked to about the economy in the US wants us to be more like China. Low wages, abuse your workers, work insane hours, and be arrested for trying to organize.

Fuck China.

Lola Gets said...

A few weeks ago in The Washington Post, was an article stating that after the Chinese tainted dog food incident, the Chinese government rejected a shipment of American beef! Ha! I foree a merchandising war a'comin'. Not going to be pretty, but defenitely amusing.

My coworker thinks this American backlash against Chinese products is a plot (and hes not even a conspiracy dude) to hinder the Chinese economy, since Chinas economy is expected to boom since its the next Olympic site. Interesting idea, no?
L

The Christian Progressive Liberal said...

Well, when you crap on a country by exporting your jobs to them and unemploying millions of Americans who could have had those jobs by trying to be cheap, this is what you get.

Thank You, Bill Clinton, for all those f-ed up trade agreements to cause this crap. We got tainted everything from the Chinese as a result of trying to be cheap and not pay livable wages and benefits to do the same jobs sent over there, and everywhere else.

Caged Lion said...

OT: Hey everyone, I have just given a review of the new documentary What Black Men Think. Please give me your comments: http://cagedlion.squarespace.com/journal/2007/8/19/review-what-are-these-black-men-thinking.html

Francis Holland said...

New Power in Africa
Winners and Losers

This series explores China’s deepening economic and political ties with Africa. NYT

Anonymous said...

From the AP:

A Martin Luther King Jr. statue "Made in China"?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003842106_chinaking18.html?syndication=rss


The price must have been right?

Anonymous said...

"Everyone knows that China's best export is their little girls."

That is funny, yet disturbingly true. I was just talking to my mother about about adoption on Sunday. I mentioned how our kids get tied up in the system because of a lack of interest in them. People would rather adopt out of country than in the country because of a horrible stigma that black kids come with drama. And from what I understand, it's easier to adopt out of country too...

Regina said...

I think we're being a bit too hard on China because if you study basic economics you can see where incidents like this fit. I also think it's interesting timing that these stories are breaking just now. China's economy is booming and that's seriously scaring the power's that be.

All economies go through growing pains where they learn that cheating isn't a good thing for business.

In fact, we're forgetting that the US has had its own history with tainted goods: America's history of tainted consumer goods

That's not to say that these issues aren't serious. Of course they are as people's lives are at risk with these products. I agree the main cause is consumers driving the market in search of the cheapest merchandise possible without a care for any other issues like the health (of both the consumer AND the worker), environment, workers rights, democracy, etc. However, without education and a change in our culture that's not going to change.

It takes standards and the consumer seems not to have very high standards. Parents should have already been buying toys from these folks rather than cheap mass produced stuff: Haba

So maybe you can pass that link on to all the women with the Chinese baby girls ;)

Too bad no one thought of this when it was time to decide whether China should be in the WTO.